LEST WE FORGET 103 DEARY, Arthur Ervin WWII Arthur was born in 1922 in Miry Creek, Saskatchewan. He enlisted with the Navy in 1942. One of the destroyer ships he was on was the HMCS Huron. He was on active duty on D-Day. One of the highlights during the war was when he met up with his brother Austin in London, England in 1944. Arthur passed away in 1961. DECOTEAU, Alexander WWI Alexander Decoteau was born on November 19, 1887 in Battleford, Saskatchewan and grew up on Red Pheasant First Nation Reserve. One of five children, he was a farmhand prior to moving to Edmonton to work as a blacksmith for his brother-inlaw. He joined the Edmonton Police Service in 1909, and became Canada’s first Aboriginal Canadian police officer. Hired as a Constable, he was promoted to Sergeant in 1914. An athlete, he was the lone Alberta representative on Canada’s Olympic team at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. He enlisted with the 202nd (Sportsman) Battalion in Edmonton on April 24, 1916. He left Halifax on the SS Mauretania on November 24, 1916, arriving in Liverpool on November 30. He proceeded overseas for service with the 49th Battalion on May 27, 1917. He served as a communications trench runner. Private Decoteau was killed in action during the Battle of Passchendaele on October 30, 1917. He is buried at Passchendaele New British Cemetery, Belgium. The son of Peter and Mary, Alexander Decoteau was 29 years old. DECK, Joseph S. “Joe” WWII Joseph was born in Compeer, Alberta on August 8, 1916 and his family moved Regina in 1927. He spent five and a half years in the Army during World War II having served overseas with the 3rd Division Signals (R.C.C.A.) as a sergeant. Joe landed on Juno Beach and saw action at Caen, Falaise, Calais and the Leopold Canal. After the war, he returned to Regina, married, and had four children. Joe passed away on April 2, 1996.
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